Two teens are nominated for the Squamish Chamber's Citizen of the Year award for their volunteer work putting together a series of outdoor summer concerts to showcase up-and-coming Sea to Sky talent.
Angus Thomson, 19 and Connor Lum, 17, both donated dozens of hours last year to put together Amped in the Park — a concert series for artists of all skill levels to play for an audience enjoying a summer evening.
"Squamish is a very outdoorsy community. I see a lot of outdoor activities being highlighted," Thomson said. "But when it comes to arts, I feel that people who are just looking to get started with music and performing don't really know where to go."
He said Amped in the Park aims to fill that gap by providing one more accessible venue for musicians.
Every Thursday last summer, Thomson and Lum, along with other volunteers, set up sound equipment on O'Siyam Pavillion.
The gear was bought by the Squamish Arts Council through a grant.
From there, local artists and bands took the stage. Most signed up for a spot in advance, but others simply walked up and asked to be on the bill.
Thomson, a musician himself, said it's important to get experience playing live in front of a crowd.
"It's scary at first to perform in front of strangers, but once you get up there it's kind of addicting," he said.
As for up-and-coming local musicians to watch, Thomson said he's keeping his eye on singer-songwriter Cat Madden and trio Cherry Continuum.
Lum, also a musician, will be starting a jazz studies program at Capilano University in the fall. He loved learning about the technical side of putting on a concert.
"A side passion for me is live audio… I think that was the main thing that really drew me in was having the chance to work with other bands and mix them as an audio engineer."
The pair is proud of the community of artists they've built, and say Amped in the Park will be back this summer.
"It's cool because it's really relaxing," Lum said of the no-pressure performance environment.
"If you want a stage, we'll get you that stage," Thomson said. "I believe anybody can start playing music… it doesn't matter if you're 10 or if you're 40."
According to Squamish Chamber executive director Louise Walker, the award is meant to honour someone who has contributed "significant volunteer time" to enrich the quality of life in Squamish.
It's one of 10 awards being presented by the Squamish Chamber at its annual Business Excellence Awards and Gala on April 27.
Other nominees this year include Amy Fast for her work with Squamish Days Loggers Sports Festival, Cydney Lyons with the Squamish Arts Council, Dwayne Kress for his work with the Sp'akw'us 50 bike races and Maureen Mackell with Squamish Helping Hands.
In 2017, Bryan Couture won the award for his work with Squamish Days Loggers Sports.
The chamber's electronic records only go back to 2010, but Walker said Thomson and Lum are definitely among the youngest to ever be nominated and could be the youngest to ever win the award.
"I was honoured [to be nominated]. It came as a shock to me," Thomson said. "A very happy shock."
He also has some advice for anyone looking to start a community initiative of their own: go for it.
"Squamish is very good at helping to get things going," he said.
